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News
Dowling Hosts the International Symposium
on the Science and Conservation of Horseshoe Crabs
OAKDALE, NY – Representatives from all over the world are joining together to conserve the existence of a compulsory animal. The international scientific and conservation communities will come together for the first time to discuss the crucial need to conserve horseshoe crabs, a threatened animal that is critical to preserving human health, coastal ecology, and costal economies. The conference will be held on June 11-14, 2007 at the Dowling College Rudolph Campus in Oakdale, which is a short distance from field sites on Long Island that offer exceptional opportunities for international visitors to view the spectacular Spring spawning migration of horseshoe crabs.
The four existing species of horseshoe crabs around the world face a set of common and growing threats including overfishing, habitat loss and alteration, and pollution. The horseshoe crab is an animal that has a history of over 300 million years and their existence plays a vital role in many ways. The horseshoe crab provides a chemical critical to human health, fills a niche critical to coastal ecology, and contributes to the economies of coastal communities.
There have been isolated, yet important, scientific and conservation success stories, which could focus worldwide efforts. This symposium is designed to share these success stories to a first-ever international audience and to discuss an overall strategy to conserve this fascinating and essential animal. Approximately 45 scientists, conservationists, resource managers, policy makers, students, and community activists from around the world interested in the preservation and conservation of this unique and critically important animal will be present at the conference.
The keynote speaker for this event will be Sylvia A. Earle. Recognized by the Library of Congress as a Living Legend, Dr. Earle is presently, Chairman of D O E R and the Explorer in Residence at the National Geographic Society. Dr. Earle has led more than 50 expeditions worldwide involving in excess of 6500 hours underwater in connection with her research. She led the first team of women aquanauts during the Tektite Project in 1970 and holds a depth record for solo diving (1000 meters).
For additional information, please contact Dr. John Tanacredi at 631-244-3394 or e-mail at tanacrej@dowling.edu. To obtain registration forms please visit www.horseshoecrab.org/isschc/
About Dowling College
Dowling College is an independent, coeducational college that serves more than 6,500 students at
its historic Rudolph Campus on the banks of the Connetquot River in Oakdale, NY, and the 105-acre
Brookhaven Campus in eastern Long Island and a business center located near the Nassau-Suffolk
border in Melville. Dowling offers Bachelor′s, Master′s, and Doctoral degrees in several
disciplines through its four schools: Arts and Sciences, Aviation, Business, and Education.
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